Nine bikes taken off the roads at one school

Friday 15 March 2024

Nine students had their motorbikes or mopeds confiscated by police officers this week after St Sampson's High School was visited during a road safety campaign.

Roads Policing Officers and police mechanics went to the school yesterday as part of the week-long 'Operation Ash' which had already been announced.

Operation Ash has involved officers doing stop-checks on vehicles to ensure they are road worthy.

The Guernsey Police vehicle examiners have been checking vehicles for things like brake light defects, tyre treads, faulty exhausts, and more. They have also been checking to see if any vehicles are overladen.

Anyone found driving a vehicle which isn't road legal could be referred to the Vehicle Rectification Scheme, face a fine, or be prosecuted through the courts.

For nine students at St Sampson's High School their vehicles were found to be in breach of one or more of the legal checks and were taken off the roads.

Guernsey Police said their mechanics were checking over each bike, looking at L-plates, number plates, chains, steering, suspension, and body-work in particular. They were also looking to see if any of the bikes had modified exhausts. Any identified were then noise tested. 

While the reasons for the individual bikes being taken off the roads were not given, the police said that "when issues were found, they were explained to the students and the vehicle was referred to the Vehicle Rectification Scheme, where owners are given a window to make repairs before any formal action is taken. Any unsafe vehicles were seized."

Guernsey's schools regularly deliver assemblies and PSHE lessons about road safety.

The emergency services also deliver road safety lessons as part of the 'Safety Calling' programme in primary schools and the 'Licence to kill' programme, focusing on speed, delivered to secondary school pupils.